Hettie Judah profiles the work of Manchester-based artist Bridget O'Gorman in the first in our series of texts on artists participating in PIVOT, the inaugural artist development programme in the North West of England. PIVOT is delivered in partnership with Bluecoat, Liverpool and Castlefield Gallery, Manchester.
The Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art Nassau Street Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
Clay moulded relics, scripture, tokens of the domestic and spectres of the past being conjured through archival material; ‘Family Lines’ devotes its energy to embodying every aspect of how we connect to others and ourselves. I speak in the plural as this exhibition invites it, as it surveys the various inextricable manifestations of one’s identities, experiences, and familial and national connections. Ultimately, to think in the singular is to neglect the complexities of the human condition. Review by Ricardo Reverón Blanco
Sean Kelly Gallery, 475 Tenth Avenue New York, NY 10018
Sean Kelly is delighted to announce Natural Beauty, a solo-exhibition of new work by Nigerian- American, Brooklyn-based artist Anthony Akinbola. This presentation, occupying the front and lower galleries, includes the artist’s signature Camouflage paintings, single and multi-panel works that utilize the ubiquitous du-rag as their primary material. Universally available and possessed of significant cultural context, the du-rag represents for Akinbola a readymade object that engages the conceptual strategies of Marcel Duchamp and other significant artistic predecessors. From the press release.
Leeds Art Gallery, The Headrow, Leeds LS1 3AA
In this ground-breaking show, curator Laura Claveria sets out to ask some hard questions and to hear some problematic answers about how African, Caribbean and Asian communities and cultures, who are so essential to Leeds’ success, are represented and interpreted in Leeds Art Gallery’s collection. Review by Daniel Barnes
Emalin 1 Holywell Lane, London EC2A 3ET
Emalin is pleased to present On The Record, Off The Record: Sound Off, a solo exhibition of new and archival works by American artist Kembra Pfahler, the artist’s third at the gallery. The exhibition comprises never-before-seen collages made for the artist’s performances in the 1990s across the venues of New York’s underground scene, alongside a selection of recent drawings. Sound Off is the third of Pfahler’s On The Record, Off The Record trilogy, following live performances at New York’s Pioneer Works earlier this year and at Participant Inc in 2021. A recording of the Participant Inc performance, live-streamed last year due to pandemic restrictions, is screened on the ground foor. From the press release.
Fruitmarket 45 Market Street, Edinburgh EH! 1DF
Daniel Silver: Looking showcases a new collection of the artist’s work in clay. A material departure from his previous sculpture – typically concrete, marble, stone, or bronze – Looking continues Silver’s exploration of ideas concerning bodily encounters, inviting new questions about the politics of witnessing and being seen. Review by Rowland Bagnall
De La Warr Pavilion, Marina Bexhill, East Sussex TN40 1DP
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The visionary paintings of Minoru Nomata depict imaginary landscapes that transcend time and place. Featuring architectural superstructures and topographical forms devoid of human presence, his uncanny depictions are portals into mysterious and uncertain worlds. From the press release.
Pace Gallery, Quai des Bergues 15-17, 1201 Geneva
Pace Gallery is delighted to announce Existence in an Infinite Continuity, a solo exhibition of new work by teamLab. This exhibition marks the interdisciplinary art collective’s first presentation in Geneva and coincides with a landmark stage design and scenography takeover at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. From the press release - In case you missed it, Nadia Egan sits down for an exclusive interview with teamLab.
Abingdon Studios, 14 Abingdon Street, Blackpool FY1 1DE
Exposed pipes from the building’s radiators lead the visitor from the entrance, weaving upstairs and through walls to ‘Slot’, the first solo presentation by artist Rafał Zajko in the North of England, comprised of five wall-based sculptures and accompanying hand-painted murals. Review by Ryan Kearney
Modern Art Oxford, 30 Pembroke St, Oxford OX1 1BP
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“During the last week I’ve been drawing,” writes John Berger in Confabulations, “asking myself whether natural forms – a tree, a cloud, a river, a stone, a flower – can be looked at and perceived as messages. Messages – it goes without saying – which can never be verbalized, and are not particularly addressed to us.” Ascending the stairs into Modern Art Oxford, one enters a strange forest. Lit from many angles, casting duplicate shadows, the distinctive hanging sculptures of American artist Ruth Asawa (1926-2013) float as if suspended in deep water. Written by Rowland Bagnall
LAXART, California Route 2, 7000 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90038, United States
It is impossible not to be drawn into the fight that perpetually unfolds on the projection wall at the centre of the darkened gallery. The grunts and smacks of two men engaging in an unrelenting, no-holds-barred fist fight resonate throughout the very room they were recorded in. Onscreen, fists and limbs puncture drywall. The holes, still visible behind the screen, swiftly cast the gallery as both a film set and an art space. Review by Reuben Merringer
Galeria Plan B Potsdamer Str. 77-87, 10785 Berlin, Germany
A magical forest world is the last thing you expect to find as you make your way through the industrial setting that houses Galeria Plan B. Yet, nestled behind the gallery’s front door, the mystic realm that is Adrian Ganea’s ‘Ghost Trade’ becomes a reality. With an extensive background in scenography for theatre and performance, the Romanian-born artist sets the stage for an enchanting musical dialogue between a cast of uncanny tree-like creatures. Review by Nadia Egan.
Dundee Contemporary Arts, 152 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4DY
“I’m always thinking…when you go from Germany…something about those trees…” The disembodied voice is likely that of the violinist Roi Shiloah talking on a train bound from Berlin to Warsaw via Poznań with viola player, Avri Levitan and artist Douglas Gordon. “I don’t have any Holocaust complex, but when I see those trees…unbelievable…when it’s cold and snowing…those are the only moments I think about it…to be outside in the freezing weather…so cold.” Shiloah and Levitan, both Israelis of Polish descent, are heading to Warsaw’s Philharmonic concert hall to perform the lead duet in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major, also known as “k.364”, after which the exhibition is named. Review by Greg Thomas.
PACE Gallery, 5 Hanover Square, London W1S 1HQ
There is something visceral about being in the room with Robert Nava’s latest paintings, currently exhibited at PACE Gallery, London. The work is immediate. You can feel the techno mixes, by the likes of Macro Plex and LL Cool J, in lieu of heartbeats, to which each of the figures—benevolent, evil and ambivalent—has been painted by the artist in his Brooklyn studio. Review by Clara Nissim
